Abstract
I study the influence of bilingualism in Spanish on the likelihood of receiving a callback for female customer service positions in the Chicago area. Data are collected from sixteen unique resumes submitted to 131 different job postings in an audit study, with applicants differing in bilingual ability. Bilingualism in Spanish significantly in- creases the likelihood of a callback by 17.86%-25.4%, implying bilingualism is valued in customer service roles. This suggests that bilingualism in Spanish may increase job prospects. While previous research studies this using observational and survey data, I use an audit study design with resumes to obtain causal results. Future research should explore more occupations over a longer period to see how bilingualism affects other occupations in a sample more representative of the labor market.
Recommended Citation
Halfpenny, Autumn
(2025)
"Does Bilingualism on Resumes Affect Callback Rates?,"
Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs: Vol. 2:
Iss.
1, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/dujpew/vol2/iss1/5
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